The pending release of Ubuntu 8.10 was announced by Steve Langasek last night. The Ubuntu team is confident the latest candidate, codenamed Intrepid Ibex, is stable enough to be used without risk.

With this new version, the developers have definitely set their sights on mobile devices.

The latest hype surrounding netbooks has helped the distribution of Linux amongst mobile users. The new Ubuntu supports third generation standards, including UMTS, enabling the so-called “guest sessions” which allows other users the temporary and safe use of their PC. The server variation simplifies virtualization and allows the encoding of directories.

The full version of Ubuntu 8.10 should appear in six days. Anyone who can't wait that long can take a sneak preview here:

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